New swine disease added to list of reportable diseases

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Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development

The office of the province’s chief veterinarian has added a new name to the list of reportable diseases in the Alberta. The Swine Delta Coronavirus (SDVC) looks and acts much like the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) that has caused problems in the swine industry in Ontario and much of the United States.


Swine Delta Corona virus first emerged in the US earlier this year and the first confirmed cases of SDCV in Canada were reported in Ontario last February. While less is known about Swine Delta Coronavirus, it appears to look and act very much like PED; it can cause diarrhea and vomiting in pigs.

“Working with swine industry, we decided to make it a reportable disease, so if producers have pigs with diarrhea, they are encouraged to contact their veterinarian to further investigate the problem to determine if the cause is one of these diseases,” said Dr. Gerald Hauer, Alberta’s chief provincial veterinarian. “If tests results are positive for the presence of either of these diseases, then the province has management plans in place in cooperation with the Alberta swine industry to prevent the further spread of the disease in livestock.”

SDCV is not a risk to human health or to other animals, nor is it a food safety risk.